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Madison Moments

Yep, perched on the corner of the square at Main and Jefferson Streets sat Madison’s police observation booth like some sort of hall monitor. These small stations appear to have been common in county seats in this area with both Eatonton and Monticello having similar structures. The construction date is unclear. The first mention of the police shack in the newspaper is in 1956. This leads us to believe that it arrived shortly after the Confederate Monument was moved to Hill Park in 1955 since it occupied roughly the same spot.Madison's was built in May, 1951 as noted in the Madisonian: "Painters are putting the finishing
touches on the new police headquarters erected last week on the city square.
The small house, is well built, with telephone and other conveniences for the
use of the city police force which will make them more accessible than at the
City Hall. It will be ready for occupancy within a few days."

Madisonians who remember the police shack recall it with fond memories especially the checkerboard with bottle caps for the pieces. Yet, at the time, it would seem that the shack was held in less than high esteem by some. A booklet published by the Madison Planning Commission in 1961 recommended improving the looks of the shack. When UGA landscape architecture students studied the town in 1964 and wrote Madison, A Visual Survey and Civic Design Study, their description began by juxtaposition of good and bad elements. You can guess on which side the police shack fell.

The following year a Community Development Committee comprised of civic leaders and representatives from sixteen clubs listed removal of the police shack as one of its top ten urgent projects. In 1967, The Chamber of Commerce Beautification Committee and the Madison Civic Design Committee engaged architect Henry Toombs to assess the situation. Evidently, City police and members of the City Council told the architect that it was imperative that they have a central structure for observation purposes. Mr. Toombs created a sketch of a Gazebo type structure to replace the shack. Mr. Toombs said that “a building like that shown in [his} drawing would be a decided improvement for beautification purposes.”

Unfortunately, the committees on beautification had no funds to build the structure. They hoped that the money could be raised through private gifts. The estimated cost of the Police Tower (yes, that’s what they were calling it – it does sound better than “shack”), including copper dome, was $4,800. That’s $34,500 in 2016 dollars. Not surprisingly, no benefactor came forward.

For two years the committees pushed for the project, but the best they could achieve was to paint the existing shack and give it window boxes of flowers. Finally, Mayor Luke Allgood and members of the City Council ended 10 years of complaints about the shack, voting in July 1971 to remove the hut. It was moved to a location on the City Water Works property. Rumor has it that the shack is now somewhere near Rutledge.

Madison Moments, a weekly blog highlighting Madison's rich history, is a creation of the Madison Historic Preservation Commission in collaboration with other City Boards and Departments. This installment was contributed by the Historic Preservation Commission and written by Ken Kocher, HPC staff. This volunteer board protects the community's wealth of historic resources - most notably the Madison Historic District, first listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

Our previous two blog posts have told the story of the Rogers Store opening the first chain grocery in Madison which then built the first supermarket, changing the name to Colonial Stores. This week’s post is the final chapter of the story. The chapter opens with two houses on N. Main Street, known as the former homes of Mrs. L. B. Chambers and the Grady Orrs, falling to the wrecking ball making way for a new Colonial Stores.

As with the previous store on Jefferson Street, Colonial Stores negotiated with the owner of the property, in this case Bearden Chambers, to build a new building on the site which they would then lease. Benning Construction Company of Atlanta was contracted to build the store, a task they completed in a little under ten months.

The opening of the store can be described as nothing less than a spectacle. A full section in The Madisonian was dedicated to the Grand Opening. Ten Madison ladies cut gold ribbons for the gala opening prior to the opening of the doors. Of special note was the design of the building which was unique to Madison. It was described as “built along Greek Revival lines” though it is more Colonial Revival ala Mount Vernon. Only three times had Colonial Stores deviated from their basic store lines — Williamsburg, Old Salem, and Madison.

Officials agreed to deviate from their usual architecture after a plea from local ladies representing the Beautification Committee, Historical Society, and Civic Design Committee. Colonial officials were widely praised locally for efforts and extra expenses in this area.

WYTH, the local radio station, did a live remote from the manager's office which was elevated and gave a clear view of the store. One Morgan County resident recalls that the opening was standing room only. Her Mama won a long, long strand of Gold Bond Stamps which she draped around her daughter’s neck. This was one proud girl when Annie Lee Small, station owner, announced it on the radio. Another Madison resident remembers that the new store had electric-eye doors that he thought were “crazy cool!”

Soon the store settled down to the day-to-day activity of the grocery business which, as you recall from the last post, is an ever changing one. Ten years after the opening of the store on Main Street, there were rumors that the store would be moving again. In August of 1974, plans for a 55,000 sq. ft. shopping center on 441, to be called Indian Creek Plaza, were announced. One of the major tenants, expected to take 20,000 sq. ft., was reported to be a Big Star Food Store which would replace the Colonial Store. Big Star was Colonial’s discount brand. However, the down economy at the time stalled the project and it never got off the ground.
Colonial continued to operate at its N. Main location. In 1980, the store was rebranded as a Big Star hoping to survive as a discount market. On November 7, 1985, The Madisonian reported “The End of an Era” relaying the news that the Big Star supermarket would close on Saturday. The reason? Increased competition brought about by the recent opening of the new Piggly Wiggly Store just up the street. The Big Star was one-third the size and had no service departments such as a deli and a bakery. Craig Sturken, spokesman for the parent company, Grand Union Company of New Jersey, stated, "The statistics do not support two stores the size of Piggly Wiggly in Madison."

And so, the 60 year story of Rogers/Colonial/Big Star in Madison came to an end. It is a story that traces the changes in the grocery business that occurred throughout the twentieth century, both locally and nationally. It is one that can be seen in the buildings left behind in Downtown Madison.

Madison Moments, a weekly blog highlighting Madison's rich history, is a creation of the Madison Historic Preservation Commission in collaboration with other City Boards and Departments. This installment was contributed by the Historic Preservation Commission and written by Ken Kocher, HPC staff. This volunteer board protects the community's wealth of historic resources - most notably the Madison Historic District, first listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.